Shipping-crate.



No. 700,996. Patented May 27, I902.

W. B. WILLIAMS.

SHIPPING CRATE.

(Application filed May 25, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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l/VILLIAM B. IVILLIAMS, OF CLARK MILLS, NE? YORK.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. dated y a 1902- Application filed May25.1900. SerialhIo- 17,961. (roman T0 (0% whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM B. WILLIAMS,

a citizen of the United States of America, and

aresident of Clark Mills, Oneida county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shipping-Crates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to shipping-crates,and especially that character of crate which is adapted to be built up by vertical arrangement of sections in such a manner that the various sections forming the body run upward, giving strength, stiffness, and stability to the case, and are either square or rectangular in shape and so constructed that a series of crates can be supported one upon the other, and thus transported, andin which the material is so arranged as to contribute to the greatest strength of the minimum amount of material employed.

Another feature of my invention consists in so combining and arranging the parts that labor is saved in the construction of the shipping-crates and I do declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, sufficient to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawi s, in which like figures refer to like parts t roughout.

In the drawings, Figure lrepresents a perspective view of my improved shipping-crate, the top coverbeing removed. Fig. 2 isa vertical longitudinal section, broken lines indicating parts removed- Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the bottom of my shipping-case.

Having described myinvention with reference to the figures illustrated in the drawings, I will now proceed to describe the details of construction and arrangement of the parts.

The walls, including the top and bottom of my shipping-case, are constructed from what is commonly known as veneer of the requisite strength for the purposes for which the same is intended to be used. In the veneer machine I provide mechanism for slotting the Walls and the top and bottom portion of my packing-case to admit the circulation of air about the contents of the case. The walls need not be made integral, however; but vertically-disposed strips of veneer or other thin material may be used. I provide a top and bottom frame consisting of strips of wood grooved for the receipt of the veneer material and made on one of its faces with an ogee molding, so that the top of one case will receive the bottom of another case. By the use of upper and'lower frame-bars in the form of an ogee molding economy in packing and shipping is secured, as the crates may be stacked vertically and held in place in the shipping-space where the crates are loaded. For this purpose I provide the base-frame 1, having an outwardly-inclined inner face in the form of an ogee molding 2, provided with groove 3 in the direction of its length. The grooved base is cut into the requisite length, usually with a beveled angle at its end to form the angle of the crate. At the angle of the base I provide metal angle-strap i, having point 5 at its ends, which are driven into the wood at the angle of the base for securing the joint rigidly in position. The walls of the crate are of the requisite height and width, cut on a veneer-machine, and provided with central openings 6. The material surrounding these openings is solid. Vertically-disposed slats, arranged with vertical openings or slots, are also within the scope of my invention. The lower portion of the walls fit into grooves 3 at 7, where it can be held by driving a nail or tack through the flanges adjacent to the groove into the base of the veneered, perforated, or open sides or walls for holding the base-section in position on the walls of the crate. I provide top frame 8 with the inclined or ogee moldingface 9 turned outward, so that the bottom frame or portion of the ogee surface of another crate will fit over the top portion for stacking the crates one above the other and holding them from shucking or sliding when in this position, the ends of the bars being usually beveled, as in the case of the bottom bars. On the under side of top frame 8 I provide a longitudinal groove 10, correspond ing to groove 3 in the base portion of the frame, for the receipt of the upper ends 11 of perforated walls or sides12, to which the top frame is secured by driving a nail or tack through the flange adjacent to the groove in the bottom of the same. The angles of the top frame are held together by angle-clamp openings 6, Fig. 4,.corresponding in thickness and structure to the side .or wall portions of the crate. The edge of this veneer is supported in grooves 17 17, best illustrated in Fig. 3, in the face of the floor-strip 18, so that the ends of the bottom section are placed in the grooves and the floor-strip is inserted in its place within the bottom of base-section and is held therein by driving a nail through the outer wall or base-section into the floor-supporting strip 18, whereby the perforated bottom is held in position in the crate for forming the bottom of the same. The veneer material forming the bottom is slotted for the admission and circulation of air, and the solid material surrounding the .openings give strength and stability to the floor. I do not limit myself to a bottom formed integral; but it may be constructed of veneer or thin elastic strips, as in the case of the walls. The bottom being thus formed of thin material, slotted or in slats, secures elasticity with strength, whereby the fruit is not crushed and packed on the bottom of the crate in transportation, as is the case when the bottom of a crate is made stiff and solid. I provide a cover made from veneer material, slotted in substantially the same form as the bottom of the case. The ends of the top or cover portion are supported in coverstrips 19' 19, Fig. 3, and are provided on their vertical face with groove 20, into which the ends of the perforated veneer 'cover 12 is placed, and the ends of the cover-strips rest on brace 21,'(best illustrated in Fig. 1,) a similar brace being in each of the corners of the upper section of the frame portion, and consists of a metal strip or U-shape tack driven into the upper section at its angle, which serves both as a brace for the angles of the upper section and as a support for the lid. In the opposite walls of the upper frame on-the inner face I provide circular groove 22, (illustrated in Fig. 1;) but the circular grooves are on the opposite upper section for receiving a pivoted locking-bar 23, Fig. 3, which is centrally secured to the center of the top by pivot 24, so that by turning locking-strip 23 on pivot 24: the cover of the case may be either locked or removed. By this arrangement fruit packed and shipped in these cases can be sealed by placing a paper strip over the pivoted locking-bar, thereby fixing a seal which will give notice to the transportation companies who receive the same that if said paper strips are removed the package of fruit will not be received, thereby lessening the expense of loss from careless opening of packages of fruit in transit.

The paper sealing device is not shown, nor is it claimed in thispatent; but it is referred to to illustrate the value of having the top of the shipping-crate locked and unlocked by a pivoted locking-bar the ends of which slip into circular grooves on the opposite vertical inner faces of the top frame-section of the case.

Cases made in this form will permit of being stacked, filled with fruit, one above the other as high as it is desirable to stack the same, and the use of the veneer material slotted or with open spaces permits the circulation of air in the crate. The solid wood .surrounding the openings gives strength and of the crate being vertically disposed, when the fruit settles in the crate it will not lodge on the slats or walls, but settles along the lines of the openings and is less liable to becomelost, bruised, or otherwiseinjured. The advantage of springincss in the bottom I have pointed out.

Structural changes will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a shipping-crate, vertically-slotted walls, upper and lower frame-bars, grooved in the direction of their length for receiving and holding the upper and lower ends of the slotted walls, a slotted bottom, end pieces slotted in the direction of their length for receiving and supporting the opposing ends of the bottom, grooves in the inner vertical face of the upper frame-sections, a slotted cover, a pivoted locking device pivoted to the cover and arranged to swing into engagement with the grooves in the vertical faces of the upper section of the frame, combined substantially as set forth, for the purposes stated.

2. In a shipping-crate, the combination of vertically-slotted walls or sides, bottom and top frame sections both being in the form of the ogee molding and each provided with a groove in the direction of its length to receive and support the walls of the shipping-crate, slotted top and bottom, the grooved end pieces for supporting the ends of the top and bottom sections of the crate, oppositely-disposed groovesjin the inner upper faces of the top frame-section, a pivoted locking device pivoted to the lid and constructed to swing into and out of engagement with the grooves for locking and unlocking the cover, combined substantially as set forth for the purposes stated.

3. A shipping-crate comprising the corresponding top and bottom rigid frames, vertical flexible side walls forming the securing connections between said top and bottom frames, each frame formed of bars rigidly secured together at their ends, the bottom frame-bars transversely beveled or inclined outwardly and downwardly at their inner edges and the top frame-bars correspondingly beveled at their outer edges so that the crates can be nested one on the other as described, a bottom secured in the bottom frame and comprising opposite side bars at the inneredges of and secured to the bottom frame bars and flexible material connecting and along its opposite edges secured to said side bars, said side walls at their upper and lower edges secured in and longitudinally of the frame-bars and having vertically-elongated openings, as described.

4. A shipping-crate comprising the rectangular corresponding top and bottom frames formed of ogee moldingbars so that the crates can be nested one on the other, the top frame having the inner angular cross-braces 21, a bottom secured in the bottom frame, said frames grooved throughout the lengths of their bars, and the flexible vertical walls formed of veneer sheets connecting said frames and secured throughout the lengths of their upper and lower edges in said grooves, said vertical walls formed with the vertical slots as described.

5. A shipping crate comprising vertical walls, a rectangular bottom frame secured to said walls and consisting of bars secured rigidly together, and a bottom secured within said bottom frame and comprising side bars at and fitting the inner edges of opposite frame-bars and an elastic wall at its edges secured to the longitudinal edges of said side bars and formed with openings therethrough, substantially as described.

6. Arectangularshipping-crate comprising a bottom and vertical walls all secured together, each wall composed of a panel consisting of two longitudinal bars having their opposite edges longitudinally grooved and one or more sheets of veneer between and connecting said bars and at its opposite edges fitted and secured in said grooves, substantially as described.

7. Arectangularshipping-cratecomprising the vertical walls and a bottom all secured together,a cover,each of said elements formed by a panel having transverse openings and composed of edge bars longitudinally grooved at their opposite edges and one or more sheets of veneer extending between and connecting said bars and at its edges fitted and secured in said grooves, substantially as described.

8. Arectangularshipping-crate comprising vertical walls secured together, and a bottom having transverse openings and secured between the lower ends of the vertical walls and comprising side bars longitudinally grooved at their opposite edges and one or more thin sheets extending between said bars and at its edges fitted and secured in said grooves, substantially as described.

9. A rectangular shipping-crate having a bottom, a top frame, a bottom frame, each frame being of the same dimensions and formed by bars in the form of ogee molding rigidly secured together at their ends and the thin vertical veneer walls extending between and connecting said frames and at their end edges inserted longitudinally directly into the top and bottom edges respectively of and secured in said bars, said walls being vertically slotted.

10. A shipping-crate having a bottom, an upper and lower framesconnected by vertical walls secured thereto, and a cover composed of side bars adapted to fit within the upper frame and longitudinally grooved and a slotted thin wall connecting said side bars and at its edges fitted and secured in said grooves, substantially as described.

11. A rectangular shipping-crate comprising a bottom and vertical walls all secured together, each wall composed of a panel of two longitudinal bars having their opposite edges longitudinally grooved, and one or more sheets of veneer between and connecting said bars and at the opposite edges fitted and secured in said grooves, said bars secured together at their ends to form the upper and lower frames, the lower frame, at its inner edges beveled or inclined inwardly and outwardly, and the upper frame correspondingly beveled at its outer edges, so that the crates can nest one on the other, substantially as described.

Signed by me at Utica, New York, this 23d day of May, 1900.

. WVILLIAM B. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

PHEBE A. TANNER, VERNON W. LEE. 

